1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a belt conveying mechanism used for conveying a record medium in an ink-jet recording apparatus for conducting recordings by ejecting ink onto a record medium, and also to an ink-jet recording apparatus including the belt conveying mechanism.
2. Description of Related Art
An ink-jet recording apparatus is an apparatus for forming a desired image on a paper by ejecting ink through nozzles formed in a head to attach the ink on the paper. In such an ink-jet recording apparatus, a belt conveying mechanism may be used as a mechanism for conveying a paper as a record medium. When a head has a large occupation length in a paper running direction, a relatively short paper cannot be conveyed by a roller conveying mechanism in which pairs of rollers pinch and put forward a paper without using a belt. A belt conveying mechanism, however, can convey such a short paper.
In an ink-jet recording apparatus, on the other hand, when ink is continuously not ejected from nozzles for a long time period, a surface of an ink meniscus becomes dry and a defective ink ejection may be caused. In order to prevent this phenomenon, a so-called flushing, i.e., a forcible ejection of ink from nozzles toward a place other than a paper during a non-printing term, must regularly be performed.
A serial-type ink-jet recording apparatus, in which a head reciprocates perpendicularly to a paper running direction, can speedily perform a flushing by moving the head away from a paper conveyance path during a non-printing term. However, in a line-type ink-jet recording apparatus, in which a head is fixedly arranged along a direction perpendicular to a paper running direction, for example in case of adopting the above-mentioned belt conveying mechanism as a paper conveying mechanism, a member for catching ink need be moved to a position facing the head after a withdrawal of the belt conveying mechanism or the head. This leads to a complicated structure and a difficulty in a speedy flushing.
As a technique for performing a speedy flushing in a line-type ink-jet recording apparatus having a belt conveying mechanism, there may be mentioned a technique in which an opening is formed in a part of a conveyor belt, a recovery mechanism including an absorber is provided at a position facing a head with the conveyor belt sandwiched therebetween, and ink is ejected toward the opening to be absorbed within the recovery mechanism when the opening in the conveyor belt is positioned below the head.
The above technique, however, causes a problem that strength of the conveyor belt is largely decreased due to the opening in the conveyor belt, and therefore, a desired belt tension cannot be obtained to deteriorate a paper conveying function, or a life of the conveyor belt becomes short.